The concise oxford dictionary of proverbs cópia

Apparently of Eastern origin, it is frequently used to assert the continuity of family characteristics. Quot. 1839 implies return to one''s original home. Cf. 16th-cent. Ger. der Apfel fellt nicht gerne weit vom Baume, the apple does not usually fall far from the tree. 1839 Letter 22 Dec. (1939) II. 243 As men say the apple never falls far from the stem, I shall hope that another year will draw your eyes and steps to this old dear odious haunt of the race. 1939 Body, Boots & Britches xix. As a .. farmer remarked, If you breed a pa''tridge, you''ll git a pa''tridge. Another way of setting that truth forth is An apple never falls far from the tree. 1981 Women''s Journal Apr. 179 He''s a fool, Muffie, as his father was. The apple never falls far from the tree. 1996 Washington Post 14 Jan. C7 Although Forbes has a lively sense of fun (his motorcycling, balloonriding father, Malcolm, certainly had one, and the apple does not fall far from the tree), his lavishness .. has a civic purpose. family ; nature and nurture ; origins apple see also the ROTTEN apple injures its neighbours; SMALL choice in rotten apples; STOLEN fruit is sweet. An APPLE-PIE without some cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze 1929 Seven Hells v. 63 Let me advise you to take a bit of cheese with it. They have a good proverb, these folks: Apple pie without the cheese, is like the kiss without a squeeze. 1989 Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) 2 July 4M There was an old English rhyme popular about 1750 that went: An apple-pie without some cheese Is like a kiss without a squeeze. food and drink APRIL showers bring forth May flowers c 1560 in Songs & Ballads (1860) 213 Aprell sylver showers so sweet Can make May flowers to sprynge. 1570 Husbandry (rev. ed.) 22 Swete Aprill showers, Do spring the May flowers. 1670 English Proverbs 41 April showers bring forth May flowers. 1821 Kenilworth III. vii. I believe .. if showers fall in April, that we shall have flowers in May. 1846 Proverbs relating to Seasons, &c. 36 March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers. 1921 Sphere 14 May 152 If there was anybody left to believe in the saying that April showers bring forth May flowers their simple faith must have been rudely shattered by May''s behaviour this year. 1984 Creative Kind of Killer xiv. The sky was looking more threatening than it had before April showers. But no May flowers to follow, not in Manhattan''s cement garden. 1996 Windows Magazine May 309 As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. The three major online services are ready to help you deliver the wonderful scents of spring to a loved one. weather lore architect see EVERY man is the architect of his own fortune. arm see KINGS have long arms; STRETCH your arm no further than your sleeve will reach; YORKSHIRE born and Yorkshire bred, strong in the arm and weak in the head. An ARMY marches on its stomach The proverb has been attributed to both Napoleon and Frederick the Great; this figurative use of (on one''s) stomach is unusual in English. vk.com/create_your_english 1904 Windsor Magazine Jan. 268 An army marches on its stomach. C''est la soupe qui fait le soldat. These Napoleonic aphorisms have been increasingly appreciated by our War Office. 1911 Good Cheer xxvi. An army marches on its stomach, says the old proverband, of course, fights on it too. 1977 Dead-Nettle x. They say an army marches on its stomach, Gilbert Slack began to say. You mean that Frank was a cook? 1992 Root into Europe ii.16 Didn''t see service as such. Supply and demand myself. Pay and personnel. Laundry and so forth. An army marches on its stomach. 1996 Washington Times 14 June A4 An army marches on its stomach, and you can''t win a war on milk and toast. food and drink ; soldiers around see what GOES around comes around. arrive see it is BETTER to travel hopefully than to arrive. ART is long and life is short ỳ à life is short, but art is long) Hippocrates (Aphorisms I. I. ú òớo ò compared the difficulties encountered in learning the art of medicine or healing with the shortness of human life. Hippocrates'' saying was alluded to by Seneca in his dialogue On the Brevity of Life (De brevitate vitae I: vitam brevem esse, longam artem) and from this version the usual Latin form of the tag is derived: ars longa, vita brevis, art is long, life is short. Art is now commonly understood in the proverb in a less specific sense. In quot. 1958, it refers to (the durability of) a work of art. c 1380 Parliament of Fowls l. 1 The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne. 1558 Government of Health 5VAnd although oure life be shorte, yet the arte of phisicke is long. 1581 tr. S. Guazzo''s Civil Conversation I. 16 An art is long and life is short. 1710 Proverbs 380 Art is Long, Life Short. Our Philosophical Meditations on Time are very Obscure and Confus''d. 1869 Culture & Anarchy vi. If .. we take some other criterion of man''s well-being than the cities he has built our .. Liberal friends .. take us up very sharply. Art is long, says the Times, and life is short. 1958 Balthazar IV. xiii. The shapely hand on his shoulder still wore the great ring taken from the tomb of a Byzantine youth. Life is short, art long. 1987 Dead Liberty viii. The art is long, Sloan heard himself saying aloud And life is short. I know that. Dr. Bressingham completed the quotation brusquely. life ; mortality ash see when the OAK is before the ash, then you will only get a splash; beware of an OAK it draws the stroke. ASK a silly question and you get a silly answer With allusion to PROVERBS xxvi. 5 (AV) Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. c 1300 South-English Legendary (EETS) 494 Ffor-sothe thou axest as a fol, and swich ansuere me schul the yive. 1484 Aesop (1967) V. xiii. 158 And thus they wente withoute ony sentence For to a folysshe demaunde behoueth a folysshe ansuere. 1551 tr. T More''s Utopia I E4 For Salomon the wise sayeth: Answer a foole according to his folishnes, vk.com/create_your_english like as I do now. 1584 Campaspe II. 325 Which was first, the day or the night?.. The day, by a day... Indeede straunge questions must have straung answeres. c 1600 Tarlton''s Jests (1638) E2VThe fellow seeing a foolish question had a foolish answere, laid his legges on his neck, and got him gone. 1721 Scottish Proverbs 35 A thraward [perverse] Question should a thraward Answer. 1929 Inclinations in Works II. 138 Has anyone cast a doubt on your union, Mab, being legal?.. Don''t ask silly questions, Daisy, if you don''t want foolish answers, the Countess returned. 1934 Murder on Cliff vi. If you ask me damned silly questions, I''m going to give you damned silly answers. 1969 Missing from her Home v. No, don''t bother to answer that. Ask a silly question and you get a silly answer. 1985 Harnessing Peacocks (1990) v. 46 Are you happy at school? Ask a silly question. It''s all right. What sort of answer is that? she cried in distress. action and consequence ; stupidity ASK no questions and hear no lies 1773 She stoops to Conquer III. 51 Ask me no questions and I''ll tell you no fibs. 1818 Heart of Midlothian I. ix. If ye''ll ask nae questions, I''ll tell ye nae lees. 1900 Over Sliprails 135 Where did you buy the steer, father? she asked. Ask no questions and hear no lies. 1906 Puck of Pook''s Hill 252 Them that asks no questions isn''t told a lieWatch the wall, my darling, while the Gentlemen go by! 1970 Great Affair xii. What has happened to Sarah?.. Ask no questions hear no lies. 1985 Paradise Postponed xv. No questions, boy, then you won''t get no lies. 1996 Washington Times 19 Feb. C11 There is wisdom in the very old ditty: Ask me no questions, and I''ll tell you no lies. 1997 Evans Above vi. 65 Charlie put his finger to his nose. Them that asks no questions, don''t get told no lies, that''s what my old mother used to say, he said. curiosity ; lying ask see if you WANT something done, ask a busy person. a-sorrowing see he that GOES a-borrowing, goes a-sorrowing. ATTACK is the best form of defence The usual US version is the best defense is a good offense. Cf. 1775 W. H. DRAYTON in R. W. Gibbes Documentary Hist. American Revolution (1855) I. 174 It is a maxim, that it is better to attack than to receive one. 1799 Writings (1940) XXXVII. 250 Make them believe, that offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only .. means of defence. 1930 Murder on Bus xxxvii. Inspector Higgins fired his revolver at the sound, deeming attack the better part of defence, whilst someone from the other side of the room had a similar notion. 1965 Apple-Stone xi. Attack, she said, is the best means of defence. She sounded so smug that I told her the thought was not original. 1980 Desouza in Stardust iv. Attack is the best form of defence, they say, and when politicians lose their principles they play a dirty game. vk.com/create_your_english 1989 Washington Times 13 Sept. C9 The reigning corporate strategy these days is that the best defense is a good offense. 1997 Washington Post 9 Dec. E5 In the case of the Redskins'' two-minute defense, the best defense is a good offense. And Washington had that. boldness ; warfare away see when the CAT''s away, the mice will play. vk.com/create_your_english B B see who SAYS A must say B. babe see out of the MOUTHS of babes. baby see don''t THROW the baby out with the bathwater. back see GOD makes the back to the burden; what is GOT over the Devil''s back is spent under his belly; it is the LAST straw that breaks the camel''s back; you SCRATCH my back, I''ll scratch yours. A BAD excuse is better than none 1551 Rule of Reason S6 This is as the saie in English, better a badde excuse, then none at all. 1579 School of Abuse 24 A bad excuse is better, they say, then none at all. Hee, because the Frenchmen paid tribute every moneth, into xiii moneths devided the yeere. 1686 in Publications of Prince Society (1867) IV. 30 Philaret .. being loth to dye so early in the morning, would not leave his Cabin .. till he had found his Ruffles: (a bad Excuse, you know, Brother, is better than none). 1821 Letter 29 Aug. in Memoirs (1849) II. vii. The old fellow''s look had a glimpse of passing cunning as much as to say, A bad excuse is better than none. 1981 Cassandra Bill xiii. What excuse is better than none? excuses BAD money drives out good Commonly known as Gresham''s Law, after Sir Thomas Gresham (c 151979), founder of the Royal Exchange. Gresham saw the economic need to restore the purity of the coinage, though there is no evidence that he actually used this expression. Quot. 1902 states that the principle, not the proverb, is mentioned in Gresham''s letter to the Queen. (1858 H. D. MACLEOD Elements of Political Economy 477 He [Gresham] was the first to perceive that a bad and debased currency is the cause of the disappearance of the good money.) 1902 New English Dictionary VI. 116 Gresham''s law, the principle, involved in Sir Thomas Gresham''s letter to Q. Elizabeth in 1558, that bad money drives out good. 1933 Letter 18 Nov. (1969) 438 Gresham''s Law holds good in every field .. and bad politics tends to drive out good politics just as bad money drives out good money. 1952 Journal 16 June in Backbench Diaries (1981) 109 The one thing we all know is that, if you have Government radio and sponsored radio side by side, the bad currency drives out the good. 1979 Times 12 Dec. 15 Bad money drives out good, by which is meant that a man who has both good and bad money will keep the good and use the bad to settle transactions. 1982 Prejudices 178 Genuine scholars receive grants too, but this misses the crucial point, which is that bad money drives out good, and that only a few years of such handouts to putterers will be enough to convince the American people that Everyman is a humanist. money BAD news travels fast Cf. 1539 R. TAVERNER tr. Erasmus'' Adages II. A4 Sad and heuy tydynges be easly blowen abroade be they neuer so vaine and false and they be also sone beleued. In quots. 1592 and 1694 news is construed as a plural noun, as was usual at this period. 1592 Spanish Tragedy I. B2VEuill newes flie faster still than good. 1694 Terence''s Comedies made English 46 Bad News always fly faster than good. 1792 Road to Ruin II. i. All these bills .. brought .. this morning. Ill news travels fast. 1935 Julius Caesar Murder Case xxv. Where''d you get it [a knife]? On the Plains of Philippi. Bad news travels fast, said Hercules. 1976 Vets might Fly xxiii. They say bad news travels fast and I had hardly started my return journey when .. the loudspeaker asked me to report to the manager''s office. 1991 McNally''s Secret (1992) iv. 38 I''ve already had a dozen phony sympathy callsincluding one from a cousin in Sarasota. Bad news certainly travels fast. misfortune ; news A BAD penny always turns up The proverb, also used allusively in simile and metaphor (see quots. 1766 and 1979, second sentence), usually refers to the predictable, and often unwanted, return of a disreputable or prodigal person to his place of origin after some absence. Cf. 1766 A. ADAMS in L. H. Butterfield et al. Adams Family Correspondence (1963) I. 55 Like a bad penny it returnd, to me again. 1824 Redgauntlet II. ii. Bring back Darsie? little doubt of thatthe bad shilling is sure enough to come back again. 1884 Fenton Family iii. Just like as not he''ll be coming back one of these days, when he''s least wanted. A bad penny is sure to return. 1922 Ulysses 149 Who''s dead, when and what did he die of? Turn up like a bad penny. 1941 Hills look Down vi. I miss Bart. Oh, a bad penny always turns up again. 1979 Mudflats of Dead iii. Stop worrying. The bad pennies always turn up. Oh, Adrian, I don''t think she''s a bad penny, not really. wrongdoers There is no such thing as BAD weather, only the wrong clothes 1980 Washington Post 15 Feb. D1 There''s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes, said Peterson. You want to wear the least you can, and still not get frost-bitten. 1992 Daily Telegraph 23 Sept. 13 As someone once said, there is no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes. 1994 St. Louis Post-Dispatch 7 Aug. 1T Regarding any rain you may encounter, Muckley says, There is no such thing as bad weather. Just bad clothes. weather A BAD workman blames his tools Cf. late 13th-cent. Fr. mauvộs ovriers ne trovera ja bon hostill, a bad workman will never find a good  vk.com/create_your_english tool. 1611 Dict. French & English s.v. Outil, A bungler cannot find (or fit himselfe with) good tooles. 1640 Outlandish Proverbs no. 67 Never had ill workeman good tooles. 1859 Self-Help iv. It is proverbial that the bad workman never yet had a good tool. 1940 Ask Me Tomorrow vii. I''ve read somewhere that a poor workman quarrels with his tools. 1979 Threat Signal Red xv. Damn! Dropped the screwdriver Bad workmen blame their tools. efficiency and inefficiency ; work bad see also give a DOG a bad name and hang him; FIRE is a good servant but a bad master; a GOOD horse cannot be of a bad colour; HARD cases make bad law; HOPE is a good breakfast but a bad supper; NOTHING so bad but it might have been worse; THREE removals are as bad as a fire. bag see EMPTY sacks will never stand upright; there''s many a GOOD cock come out of a tattered bag. bairn see FOOLS and bairns should never see half-done work; the SHOEMAKER''S son always goes barefoot. As you BAKE, so shall you brew As you begin, so shall you proceed. Complementary to as you BREW, so shall you bake. c 1577 Misogonus III. i. As thou bakst, so shat brewe. 1775 May-Day ii. To keep .. My bones whole and tight, To speak, nor look, would I dare; As they bake they shall brew. 1909 It never can happen Again I. V. Each one [i.e. young person] .. was .. the centre of an incubation of memories that were to last a lifetime. As they bake, so they will brew, philosophized Mr. Challis to himself. action and con sequence bake see also as you BREW, so shall you bake. bare see there goes more to MARRIAGE than four bare legs in a bed. barefoot see the SHOEMAKER''S son always goes barefoot. bargain see it takes TWO to make a bargain. bark see DOGS bark, but the caravan goes on; why KEEP a dog and bark yourself? A BARKING dog never bites Cf. Q. CURTIUS De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magni VII. iv. 13 canem timidum vehementius latrere quam mordere, a timid cur barks more furiously than he bites [said there to be a Bactrian saying]; 13th-cent. Fr. chascuns chiens qui abaie ne mort pas, the dog that barks does not bite. c 1550 Thersytes E1 Great barking dogges, do not most byte And oft it is sene that the best men in the hoost Be not suche, that vse to bragge moste. 1595 Locrine (1908) IV. i. Soft words good sir A barking dog doth sildome strangers bite. 1629 Book of Merry Riddles 22 A barking dog seldome bites. 1730 Traulus I. 5 Your barking Curs will seldom bite. 1837 Arethusa III. x. Our dogs which bark, Abdallah, seldom bite. 1980 Daily Telegraph 1 May 18 A canvassing candidate came to a house where there was an Alsatian